The Polverino translational laboratory focuses on understanding the pathobiology underlying chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is the third leading cause of death both in the USA and globally. The most common risk factor in developed countries is cigarette smoke, while in developing countries, the inhalation of smoke generated by burning biomass fuels indoors is an important risk factor. COPD has a multifactorial nature, being determined not only by environmental, but also genetic, genomic, and developmental factors, which accounts for an individual susceptibility to develop the disease. In the era of precision medicine, our ultimate goal is to understand key factors in the pathogenesis of COPD to be targeted in a selected subset of COPD patients. Our laboratory is also testing the efficacy of new therapeutics in pre-clinical animal models of these diseases. ​

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